The Chicago White Sox head into the break with a 46-46 record
It seems quite fitting that the White Sox are a .500 ball club headed into the All-star break. A season with tremendous ups and downs. The White Sox finished their first half of the season on a great note nonetheless, taking 3 of 4 from the Twins in Minnesota. They are now 3 games back of first place in the division.
There are 4 Important takeaways after the White Sox successful weekend in Minnesota.
1. Dylan Cease is a front runner for Cy Young
Despite being snubbed from the all-star game, no one can deny Cease is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. At the break, he leads the league in strikeouts with 150! He has an era of 2.15 and a whip of 1.18. Cease earned his 9th win of the season this past Sunday. He pitched 7 scoreless innings against the Twins, surrendering only one hit and punching out 8. It is clear that Dylan Cease has become the ace of the staff, no questions asked. Hopefully Cease will start pitching 6 innings more consistently in the second half.
Cease has shown his potential in the past few years, and it seems now he is starting to really come along in his young career. When the team needs someone to stop the bleeding, someone to get them a win, Cease is their guy.
Well would you look at that. pic.twitter.com/ifrM2QlUaJ
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 17, 2022
2. Johnny Cueto was an incredible signing for the White Sox
This is the type of veteran you not only want in your clubhouse, but also on the mound every 5 days. Cueto’s season has been remarkable thus far. Nevertheless, it was unreasonable to think he would be this good for the White Sox when they signed him back in April.
Cueto has made 11 starts for the White Sox. In those 11 starts, he has gone at least 6 innings in 10 of those starts. His latest was a gutsy 6 inning performance against the Twins in the series opener. Cueto finished the 5th inning with a pitch count of 103. He went back out there for the 6th inning and struck out the side! Cueto has been a work horse, helping the team tremendously.
Johnny Cueto: 6 innings, 1 run, 118 pitches. He struck out the side v Twins in his final inning. pic.twitter.com/orp8gR0Iis
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) July 15, 2022
3. Hitting the long ball
Two reasons the offense has struggled in 2022 is lack of home runs, and the lack of walks. In the 4 game series against the Twins, the team hit a total of 8 home runs in the series. Of course, it is no surprise that the team took 3 of the 4 games against the Twins. As the old saying goes, “Ball go far, team go far”.
Engel in the Outfield™#ChangeTheGame | @NBCSChicago pic.twitter.com/a8b0fO8NS8
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 16, 2022
In the series finale, Yoan Moncada showed off his beautiful swing to really break open the game. Andrew Vaughn followed Moncada’s lead and went back to back.
Back-to-back blasts! 💥 pic.twitter.com/zfp5ej8Dzk
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 17, 2022
If this is a sign of things to come for the second half, the team should be able to win the division and make the post season for a third consecutive season. In the 4 game series, the White Sox outscored the Twins 32 runs to 10. This is the type of series win the White Sox needed against a division rival. All in all, it was a beatdown in Minnesota.
4. Defense was on full display in Minnesota
The White Sox were certainly showing off the leather in their final series of the first half. In a season were defense has often been abysmal for the White Sox, seeing good defense around the diamond is refreshing. The White Sox need to play like this much more often in order to be seen as a true contender once again.
Tim-Tim the point guard showing out tonight. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/m9aW9CVuFn
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 16, 2022
The White Sox start back up at home against the Cleveland Guardians on July 22nd. One factor to consider is that the team has struggled to win games at home this season. With a record of 19-25 at Guaranteed Rate Field, a 4 game home stand to start the second half will be crucial.
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